Graduate Studies in Forest Genetics

What kind of trees do we plant and where do we plant them?

How do we improve our trees’ desirable traits such as rapid growth and straight stems?

What species will be well suited to grow in a changed climate?

Trees grown in a common garden (provenance test) expose genetic

differences and make it possible to model growth patterns.

White Spruce Provenance Test

Paul Charrette Bill Parker

These patterns of growth make it possible to determine which seed source will grow best

at a particular site.

Site needing seed for replanting

• How do we determine how many breeding zones are needed for a forest tree species?

• Growth models and optimization techniques give us an answer for jack pine (Pinus banksiana) in NW Ontario.

How will the range of our forest tree species be affected under climate change?

How will these changes affect Forestry?

Different predictive models (general circulation models or GCMs) indicate different future ranges.

Red Pine (Pinus resinosa) Predicted Range in 2050

Present Day Hadley Cm3 A2 Hadley Cm3 B2

Canada GCM2 A2 Canada GCM2 B2 CSIRO B2

Different predictive models (general circulation models or GCMs) indicate very different future ranges for some species.

How will these changes affect Forestry?

How do we deal with the uncertainty?

Present Day Hadley Cm3 A2 !!! Hadley Cm3 B2

Canada GCM2 A2 Canada GCM2 B2 CSIRO B2

White Pine (Pinus strobus) Predicted Range in 2050